Most companies know that the time for playing around and experimenting with analytics is over.
In fact, breakaway companies scale analytics by significantly outperforming in three categories: aligning with strategy; building the right foundations of data, technologies and people; and conquering the last mile by embedding analytics into decision-making and processes.
So says Michael Corcoran, senior VP at Information Builders, who will be presenting on ‘Accelerating the time to value from data and analytics’, at the ITWeb Business Intelligence Summit, to be held from 3 to 5 March at the Sandton Convention Centre.
He quotes McKinsey, who says: “Across industries, we see organisations investing heavily to integrate analytics throughout their entire business in an effort to capture a portion of the $9.5 trillion to $15.4 trillion of value we estimate analytics can enable globally.”
However, in spite of these investments, many organisations are struggling to glean real value from their analytics, as they are not embedding analytics into all areas of the business.
“The reality is that too few are breaking away,” explains Corcoran. “Data is difficult to access, data is not trusted as most companies are plagued by poor data quality, and tools are hitting the wall. In fact, according to BARC (The Business Application Research Center), analytic tools are only used by 17% of employees in most organisations.”
In addition, although everyone is excited about the potential for advanced analytics, such as predictive, AI and machine learning, fewer than 15% of organisations are applying these technologies in production projects, as they don’t have access to the appropriate type of data to reach that goal, he adds.
Corcoran offers strategy for success with data and analytics.
“This is made up of four points. Firstly, provide broad access of related data; next, create trust in your data; after that, prioritise analytic projects based on value; and finally, make sure your data strategy and analytics strategy are aligned.”
The cost of bad data
Bad data can be extremely costly, he warns.
“IBM estimates that bad data costs the US economy around $3.1 trillion dollars each year, and Experian Data found that bad data has a direct impact on the bottom line of 88% of American companies, with the average company losing around 12% of its total revenue.”
Similarly, he says the executives surveyed by PwC claimed that cleaning up their data will lead to average cost savings of 33%, while boosting revenue by an average of 31%.
Using real-world case studies, Corcoran’s session will illustrate how market leaders are delivering on the high returns expected from data and analytics. He will discuss the importance of aligning data strategy with analytics strategy, and will uncover the use cases which offer the best opportunities. Finally, he'll share advice on how to avoid the four major inhibitors to success.
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